Campbell’s Pruneyard gets approval for revitalization plan

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Renderings courtesy city of Campbell
Renderings illustrated by Lowney Architecture
Architectural renderings depict what the Pruneyard Shopping Center would
look like after renovations and construction. On Oct. 18 the Campbell city
council approved the Ellis Partners proposal to renovate the existing
shopping center, while also constructing additional buildings.

After two years of community and city meetings, Pruneyard Shopping Center ownership has been granted permission to move ahead with a major, long-term project to revitalize the popular Campbell destination.

Ellis Partners received permission Oct. 18 from the Campbell City Council to renovate existing buildings and construct news ones. The council’s unanimous vote was met with applause from the audience.

“This is really a key moment for the Pruneyard,” Jim Ellis, co-founder of Ellis Partners, told the city council at the meeting.

The Pruneyard will see its 27 acres transform significantly. Plans include bringing additional parking, erecting four new retail buildings totaling 18,600 square feet, a 100,000 square-foot five-story office building, and an additional building for a mix of office and retail use or a fitness facility.

The existing buildings will see exterior renovations, while public plazas will be constructed to better connect pedestrians with the shopping center. Traffic circulation will also see alterations to allow for better bicycle and pedestrian crossings within the property.

Ellis Partners’ director of development, Dean Rubinson, told this newspaper that ownership hopes construction can begin “early in the new year.”

The council also granted approvals for a Pruneyard-themed freeway sign to be affixed to an office building facing Highway 17. The Pruneyard property, located at East Campbell and South Bascom avenues, will also be sectioned off into three parcels. Ownership had told the city at a previous meeting with the planning commission that creating parcels will give them the flexibility to finance the project.

Construction will take place in phases, according to a city staff report. The first phase can begin within one year of approval and will include the renovation to existing buildings, while the following phase must begin within six years of the council’s approval of the project.

The third phase will see the construction of new retail buildings. The final phase will see the construction of the five-story office building on the northern side of the East Campbell Avenue Portals that is required to start within 10 years of the city’s approval.

Designs for the five-story buildings have not been finalized and will undergo further city and planning commission review in the future.

A majority of council was mostly enthusiastic for the project and made reference to its success as a retail destination in the city.

“This is where retail can thrive, and it’s brick and mortar,” said Councilman Paul Resnikoff at the meeting.

Council members also had praise for Ellis Partners.

“They’ve shown a lot of willingness to work with the community and the council and my sort of little issues, including the art and the other stuff,” said Mayor Jason Baker.

Despite her vote in favor of the project, Vice Mayor Liz Gibbons voiced concern over the location of the five-story building, suggesting it was not the appropriate place to build it.

“I just think it’s not in the right place physically for the site and for the city,” Gibbons said during the meeting.

She also expressed concern about creating more traffic near the shopping center, the project being subdivided and the number of alcohol licenses that could be granted to current and future tenants.

“I don’t think the project is giving enough back to the city,” Gibbons said.

Ellis Partners will also need to reserve space for radio equipment used by city emergency agencies located in one of the existing towers and an area for public art, as requested by the council. The council also asked Ellis Partners to look into working with Caltrans to create a bike path entrance to the Los Gatos Creek Trail located near the Pruneyard.

Jasmine Leyva is a writer for the Silicon Valley Community Newspapers reporting on news in the city of Campbell. She is a San Jose State University alum, enjoys reading and can be found practicing yoga in her spare time.

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